A clean, well-shaded bench

Deirdre Newman

Charles and Diane Buchanan have lived near Jordan Park for close to

40 years. Their children and grandchildren have played there.

“We’ve spent a lot of time there coming and going,” Diane Buchanan

said. “It’s a nice, unifying kind of place.”

With all of her time hanging out in the park, she noticed the two

benches could use some spiffing up -- especially since they had no

backrests -- so the Buchanans donated $1,455 to the city to replace

the benches with more ones that were more ergonomical. Their donation

also went toward three new trees that would provide shade for the

benches.

“The city was wonderful to work with, especially Carol Proctor

with the city manager’s office,” Diane Buchanan said. “We just wanted

to make a gift, no strings attached. She was so understanding and

made it happen so fast.”

The benches were installed last fall, and on Tuesday, the

Buchanans tried out the benches for the first time themselves.

“They work just fine,” Charles Buchanan said. “They’re going to

last.”

The Buchanans don’t make it to the park as often since their

grandchildren are older, Diane Buchanan said, but they still go by

every now and then. And with the benches installed, she is setting

her sights on getting some picnic tables for the park.

She hopes their action will inspire other residents to improve

their neighborhoods.

“Sometimes you don’t realize you can do these things,” she said.

“You think, ‘Maybe the city should do it,’ or something, but it is

possible for people to make little contributions. And it’s not

complicated and it’s gratifying.”